Mario Balotelli "missed chances" to match Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's level

Cristiano Ronaldo was a notable absentee for Manchester United's derby day drubbing at the hands of Manchester City after he jetted off to Portugal.Ronaldo flew to his homeland to rehab an injury - but that trip was unsanctioned by United. According to The Telegraph, Ralf Rangnick was unaware of Ronaldo's decision to fly to Portugal over the weekend of the derby.

The preparations for Manchester United’s crucial game against Tottenham are well and truly underway.

Manchester United face a huge test of their top four credentials this weekend as they look to bounce back from their embarrassing derby day defeat.

Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes reportedly had to calm the Portuguese veteran down amid crunch talks over his Manchester United future.Mendes, widely regarded as one of the game's super agents, tried to placate the former Real Madrid and Juventus star after he was axed from United's team to face Manchester City at the weekend.But according to the Sun, Mendes is fighting a losing battle with Ronaldo edging towards an exit from Old Trafford less than a year since his emotional return to the club. The report says the 37-year-old is still angry after being informed by Ralf Rangnick that he would be used as a substitute against City.Rangnick apparently wanted to begin without a recognise no.9 and wanted Ronaldo to make an impact off the bench - an approach that did not go down particularly well with the star.

Cristiano Ronaldo's famous 'siuu' celebration. The Manchester United ace, 37, is renowned for his goalscoring pedigree with a staggering 822 career goals for club and country.Often pictured wheeling away in celebration, Ronaldo is known for his iconic 'siuu' showpiece having established it whilst at Real Madrid.Undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo is an inspiration for many football fanatics, but his trademark celebration landed one supporter in a bit of bother.The amateur footballer was filmed being taken to a nearby hospital just moments after seeing his leg buckle when trying to master the 'siuu.'Pictured netting a free shot on a 5-a-side pitch, the fan then runs off to the right before attempting Ronaldo's celebration.Jumping in the air, he sends each arm crashing across either side but on impact with the ground his left leg gives way and the footage abruptly stops.HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Manchester United sell Cristiano Ronaldo? Let us know in the comments section.Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox - don't miss a thing.It only takes a matter of seconds.Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.And that's it, job done.

Cristiano Ronaldo was a notable omission from Manchester United's squad as the Red Devils were embarrassed by Manchester City on Sunday.The 36-year-old missed the clash due to a hip-flexor injury, and he was nowhere to be seen at the Etihad Stadium.This move reportedly left United players 'surprised' given his aura in the dressing room, and they believed his presence would have helped.Ronaldo, instead, had jetted off back to his native Portugal to recover from his injury.And, according to The Sun, Ronaldo had hoped the warm weather of Portugal would help him recover from his ongoing injury woes.United sorely missed their Portuguese superstar as Pep Guardiola's side ran riot on Sunday afternoon.Jadon Sancho's equaliser only poked the bear as Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both struck twice to emphatically hammer the Red Devils out of the top four. After the game, Ralf Rangnick said: “I have to believe my medical department.

Speculation that Cristiano Ronaldo did not miss Sunday's derby day defeat to Manchester City due to injury has grown after it was discovered that his sister liked a post claiming he had been dropped for tactical reasons.

Manchester United’s dreadful derby defeat to Manchester City on Sunday reportedly left his team-mates ‘surprised’.The Portuguese superstar missed the Manchester derby with a hip flexor injury, with the Red Devils going on to be smashed by their fierce rivals. It was an embarrassing performance from Ralf Rangnick’s side, with the German admitting after the game that he had no idea when Ronaldo would return from the sidelines.

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick insists he has no reason to dispute the cause behind Cristiano Ronaldo's absence for the 4-1 thrashing by City and insisted it would be unhelpful to be 'frustrated' by the continued absence of Edinson Cavani.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence could help the side beat Manchester City.Ronaldo is not in the matchday squad for the widely-anticipated Manchester Derby owing to injury, according to reports.And despite him being the club’s top goal soccer this season, Neville feels that him not being there is “not a huge loss.”The Sky Sports pundit is normally a huge fan of the superstar - but in this instance, against Pep Guardiola’s club who like to dominate possession, Neville feels as though Ronaldo is better served out the side anyway.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been dropped for the game against Manchester City for tactical reasons, according to reports. The Manchester United player is not part of Ralf Rangnick ’s side for the game at the Eithad, with many reports suggesting that he has been ruled out of the game through injury.

Manchester United before joining Spanish giants Real Madrid, and the Portuguese star was known for cutting in from the left to devastating effect.But Ronaldo was asked to become a centre-forward at Juventus, and despite adopting the no.9 role at United during his second stint, he didn't like the idea of being a regular starter in a central role.That's according to Maurizio Sarri, who perhaps got the best season out of Ronaldo while he was at Juevntus, after making the mega-move from Madrid in 2018.But the Italian revealed that Ronaldo refused to play centre-forward, and believes that it may be contributing to his goal drought at United as he is a natural out wide.Sarri was asked by Sky Italia if Ronaldo refused to play as a striker under him at Juventus, and the current Lazio coach said: "Cristiano scored more Serie A goals in his season with me than any other.What is Cristiano Ronaldo's best position at Manchester United? Comment below."He was prepared to play centre-forward in a few games when we had an emergency situation, but he didn’t much like the idea of doing it regularly."In those situations, you end up challenging the certainties that the player has. Ronaldo scored 35-40 goals per season by starting from that wider position, so for him it was an almost absurd request.

Gary Neville thinks Manchester United could be better without Cristiano Ronaldo against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester City's Jack Grealish has already chosen his side in the debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Manchester United, but he still ranks among the world’s best goalscorers.The Portuguese superstar remains the Red Devils top scorer this term, having also finished with the most goals in Serie A last year.Despite being 37-years-old, Ronaldo is still capable of performing at the highest level, with United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick making him his first-choice striker at Old Trafford.A new list showing the highest scorers after turning 30 in the top five European leagues has also shown Ronaldo’s remarkable ability to continue to star in the Premier League.The top 10 of the list comprises players from across Europe, with the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga all featured.At number 10 on the list is Luis Suarez, who has scored 103 goals in the 168 games he has played since turning 30 in 2017, across spells at Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.The next man up also spent his seasons since turning 30 entirely in La Liga, with Artiz Aduriz having hit the back of the net 104 times in 269 games for Valencia and Athletic Bilbao.Italian icon Luca Toni comes in at eight, scoring 104 goals in 227 games for the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Hellas Verona.Who do you think is the best player of all time? Let us know in the comments section...Another Italian, Fabio Quagliarella, sits just above Toni, firing in 108 times in the 288 games and nine years since he turned 30,Roma legend Francesco Totti just misses out on a place in the top five, having hit 125 goals in the 279 games he played after turning 30 until his retirement.Robert Lewandowski should move higher than his current fifth place, having scored an astonishing 125 goals in the three years since his 30th birthday.Ronaldo’s fellow superstar Lionel Messi is

Here are your Manchester City evening headlines for Friday, March 4.

Bernardo Silva successfully told his Man City teammates how to stop Cristiano Ronaldo before November's Manchester derby between the two sides.

Manchester United star, whose full name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, was born in Funchal, the capital of Portuguese island Madeira. He is the fourth child of Maria Dolores dos Santos Viveiros da Aveiro and José Dinis Aveiro, who were both keen on Reagan.Reagan went into politics with the Republican Party after a career in film and television and it appears that is where Ronaldo owes his now-famous name to.

Manchester United are reportedly interested in Benfica star Darwin Nunez but they have been told they will need to splash out in excess of €60m (£50m) if they want to sign him.

Manchester United flop Bebe produced one of the finest moments of his career with a stunning Copa del Rey free-kick on Thursday evening which channelled his inner Cristiano Ronaldo.The 31-year-old, who joined United back in 2010 despite Sir Alex Ferguson having never seen him play, joined Rayo Vallecano for a second time back in 2018.Having scored seven goals last season - he broke his goalless streak after 27 matches this campaign with one of the goals of the season.With the tie sitting in the favour of Real Betis with just 10 minutes remaining of the semi-final second leg, the former Portugal youth international stepped up to take a free-kick from over 35 yards.Bebe put his head down and struck the ball with perfection following a focused run-up, drilling the ball over the wall and past Claudio Bravo on the goalkeeper's side.The forward pointed to the crowd with purpose as he was swamped by his colleagues having made the scoreline 1-0 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate.However, disaster would strike for the away side as Betis found an equaliser through Broja Inglesias - which would see them go through to the final to face Valencia in April.Having joined United from Vitoria de Guimaraes back in 2010, Bebe would only play seven times for the club over the next four years - but did manage two goals.Was Sir Alex too harsh on Bebe? Give us your thoughts in the comments sectionHe told the Mail of the move back in 2015: "It was a shock for me, too."For the week leading up to it, I thought the whole thing was a joke. I thought they were leading me on."Then I realised it was serious.

Hannibal Mejbri hopes he can learn from Cristiano Ronaldo as he eyes a first-team breakthrough at Manchester United.